Local Western Youth Rider Aiming for Texas

Published:09:00Thursday 27 April 2017

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Iain Loder from Alford has been accepted as one of 12 youth riders on to the American Quarter Horse Association UK Youth Squad.

These riders, aged 14 to 18, will undertake training throughout 2017 before a selection at the end of the year when five will be named as the AQHA UK Youth Team heading for the AQHA Youth World Cup in Texas, USA in next year.

The AQHA Youth World Cup is held every two years.

Last year the UK team came home from Australia with several gold medals and 6 th place overall in the world.

This was the best placing a UK team has ever had, so the next squad will have a lot of work ahead of them in the run up to this truly international event.

A total of ten youth riders may attend the event, five competing and the other five as team support, including a reserve.

At the event itself the host country will provide horses for each team and they have five days in which to get to know their horses and work out which to use in a number of western disciplines.

The youth team will have to prepare the horses for showing and the adults accompanying them (including the team manager and coach) are not allowed to ride or even lunge the horses, so they really have their work cut out.

Each Squad member will also have to undertake fundraising for this challenge with a target for the general squad and team costs and also their own personal funding.

If anyone can help with donations, sponsorship or team uniform please get in touch at info@aqha.uk.com.